Talon braced for Agent Tabor’s arrival. The male had requested a meeting first thing in the morning, and it was a coincedence it would fall on the morning after the pride had delivered shifter law to the wolf.
They’d held the government off just long enough to kill Murdock and dispose of his body, and there was no way the FBI knew what had happened. The shifters had been a secret for a very long time, and they had their ways of keeping things from the humans.
Talon knew exactly what Tabor was going to tell the pride. Murdock was still missing, and they wanted their continued help. The only help his Guardians and Protectors would be providing was clean up. There had to be more wolves out there than what they’d found at the warehouse.
Then there was the Khat still being distributed on the streets. And Magan, Murdock’s mate. She hadn’t been at the warehouse, and no one had seen her either. No one knew if she’d returned to her home country, or if the agent had kept her in another location.
Winter pushed the office door open. Agent Tabor came in, dressed in his sports coat and jeans. “Talon.”
“Agent Tabor,” he greeted, pointing to the seat in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
As the agent got comfortable, Winter and Savage took their places beside Talon. They were relaxed, never giving away their concern for the visit even though Talon could feel it through his magic.
“Do you have any news for us?” Talon asked.
“We still haven’t been able to track down Agent Murdock,” Tabor cursed, lifting a folder he’d been carrying. “We did, however, see Magan Amburo shopping at a local store. She doesn’t look the same. Her eyes have changed. On top of that, the crime has stopped. It just vanished like the wolves left with Agent Murdock.”
They were already aware the sister to the drug supplier had been changed. Maxam Amburo, the brother, would be a problem. But he was human, and since the wolf alpha had been stopped, they’d leave the rest of it up to the human authorities.
“She’s like him,” Talon admitted, keeping the secret safe. “I don’t know what the absence of Murdock means for the Khat dealings here in the states, but if he is gone, the wolves will be, too.”
“Are you saying you’re not going to help us anymore?” Tabor accused. Talon knew the human male was smart, even expected that very question.
“We were hired to find the wolves,” Talon reminded him. “If the wolves are gone, we won’t be needed anymore. The drugs are your problem. Not mine.”
Tabor’s eyes narrowed. He tried to read Talon’s expression, but the agent wasn’t going to get anything in return. Talon knew he was solid, and the human authorities would never know what had happened to the man they were looking for.
“Then it appears we are done here,” Tabor said, clearing his throat. “I guess we won’t be needing you anymore, then.”
“It was great working with you, Tabor,” Talon admitted. And it was true. The agent was a decent human, and if the world was a different place, Talon would’ve possibly called him a friend.
But the pride came first, and so did his kind. The shifters were better off on their own, policing their own.
“Thank you,” Tabor said as he stood and offered a hand. “Take care of yourself, and you have my number if you ever need anything.”
“If we hear of Agent Murdock showing up somewhere else, I will call,” Talon promised.
He walked Tabor to the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he was gone and out of sight. Magan was still around, but she wouldn’t be for long. They only had to wait a few weeks, and if she didn’t come to the pride for help, the wolf would die.
It was the way
their world worked, and from that moment on, the way it would be
until Talon took his last breath.
Storm woke to the sounds of his mate’s soft breathing. He still couldn’t believe that in a short amount of time, they’d found not only love, but themselves. It wasn’t two weeks ago he’d thought she was gone from him forever.
His panther purred loudly, causing his mate to move a little. He tried to push his panther back to give her some more time in her contented slumber, but it wanted her to wake up. It wanted to play.
“Morning,” she mumbled, stretching every inch of her delectable body. He rolled to his side and buried his nose against her mating mark.
“God, you smell so good,” he moaned. Fuck! It was like she’d developed some sort of new mating scent overnight.
“You smell amazing, too,” she hummed as he licked a path from her mating mark to her earlobe, taking a second to nip at it. “If you wake me up like this every morning, I won’t be able to get out of the bed.”
“That’s the point,” he continued as he kissed across her neck, contemplating biting her other side. He wanted all the males to know she belonged to him.
“I need to get up,” she yawned. “I’d like to go to my old house today and grab what I need. I guess I’ll also need to put it up for sale.”
“If that’s what you want to do,” he replied, still kissing her skin. He didn’t press his lips to any of her scars even though he made note of every single one of them. So far, he’d counted eighteen.
“You’re not listening to me,” she chuckled and pushed at his shoulder, but he didn’t budge, moving down to her ample breasts.
“I swear they’re bigger this morning,” he hummed and licked his lips. His panther nudged him to continue the sweet path down the length of her body.
“Ow,” she yelped when he licked over her nipple.
“I’m sorry, my love,” he continued, but when the most calming scent hit him square in the face, he stopped moving.
Dead.
In.
His.
Tracks.
“Storm, what’s wrong?” she gasped when his eyes flashed amber. “Storm?”
“Fuck,” he inhaled. “You’re with young….my young!”
“What?” she balked. Storm jumped to his feet and started digging through his closet. “Impossible. We aren’t even the same species…What are you doing?”
“Get up,” he ordered, tossing her one of his clean shirts. “We have to go to the healer right now, Amaya. Right now.”
“I’m confused,” she said, her brown hair in disarray around her head. “I thought we couldn’t procreate.”
“I didn’t think we could either,” he admitted, finally stopping in the middle of his room, searching for his pants.
Pants…okay. Where were his pants?
“How do you know I’m pregnant?” She finally pulled the shirt over her head and found her discarded sweatpants on the floor.
“I can scent it,” he hissed. “Can’t you feel it?”
“No, I can’t feel anything,” she huffed as she scrambled off the bed, hurrying over to him. She placed her hand on his and squeezed. “Storm. Slow down. Tell me what is going on. I don’t understand.”
“We shouldn’t have made a child,” he said in a rush. “It’s impossible to mix the animals. Totally impossible.”
“Well, I haven’t been with anyone else,” she scoffed.
“I know it’s my cub,” he promised, pulling her to his chest. “I can scent it. A female’s pregnancy is the most wonderful smell to a shifter. The others will gravitate toward you. It does something to us…makes us feel like we are with our mothers again. I really don’t know how to explain it, but we need to see Harold. I have to know if you’re going to be okay.”
“Storm, you’re scaring me,” she worried.
“Sit down,” he urged, walking her over to the bed and gently pushing her to her seat.
Storm’s hands shook as he scrambled to find the healer’s preprogrammed number in his cell phone. He tapped his foot as it rang. When Harold answered, Storm didn’t wait for him to say a greeting.
“I need…can you? I…”
“Storm, what’s wrong?” Harold asked, his voice deepening. Storm heard the healer snap his fingers in the background, probably calling for Landon or his mate, Luna.
“Amaya,” he blurted. “She’s with young.”
“Oh,” he replied. Storm wanted to scream. “I’m on my way.”
Storm dropped his phone on the bed and knelt at his mate’s feet. “It’s going to be okay, Amaya.”
“Storm, look at me,” she cooed, tucking her finger under his chin. He’d never tire of her touching him. The magic between them swirled every time, and he was addicted to it. “I’m obviously pregnant, but I’m fine. Whatever is going on, we will find out. I need you to stay calm for me.”
He was freaking the fuck out inside. How was she being so calm? His mind immediately went to her safety, and tonight was the full moon. She would need to shift. Could she shift? Would it hurt their cub? Would it hurt their cub if she didn’t?
The knock on the door jarred him enough to answer it. He knew his eyes were wide with fright when Harold stepped inside. “Storm, let’s talk before I tend to your mate.”
“But…she…” He swallowed and shook his head. “How?”
“I don’t know, brother,” Harold admitted. “But I’m going to find out. First, I need you to calm down before the alpha comes bursting in the door. I’m sure you want some time to let all of this sink in and be with your mate before announcing it to the pride.”
“You’re right,” Storm agreed, finally relaxing.
“Now, is she doing okay? Morning sickness? Anything?”
“She says she feels fine,” he replied. In fact, Storm was the only one freaking out over the news. He wasn’t sure if he was excited or scared…or both.
“It’s going to be a long nine months,” Harold chuckled, lightening the mood. “You are going to drive yourself feral with worry. If she isn’t showing any signs of distress, your mate is fine, Storm. Please remember that.”
“Okay, yeah,” he accepted. “She’s in our room.”
The healer followed Storm into the bedroom where Amaya was waiting patiently. His mate was smiling softly as she rested her hand on her stomach. He was in awe at how beautiful she was, and he couldn’t wait to see her round with his cub.
“Amaya, how are you feeling?” Harold began the exam, and all Storm could do was sit in his chair across the room and watch.
And worry.
Malaki had one more stop before he left town. The alpha had given him his space, but it wasn’t enough. It was time for a change.
The bell over the door to the animal clinic dinged as he entered. The familiar scents of cleaning chemicals and the odor of the animals being treated brought back a lot of memories. Some of them he would keep with him forever. Others reminded him too much of the pain he’d been in concerning his sister.
“Mal? Oh, my gods! Malaki,” Sofia blurted and jumped to her feet behind the desk.
She was so beautiful and would make for an amazing mate and mother someday. He’d bonded with her, becoming friends over the time he watched the clinic during the trouble with the Gadaí. But that was all they would ever be.
Friends.
He wasn’t mate material. He knew that. It was better that he left and found a new pride. Being there was too hard for him. Seeing the faces of the people who’d saved him and his sister every day was wearing on him. He just wanted to forget everything.
Talon had talked to another alpha; one who was still fighting the Khat war. He needed Guardians and agreed to bring Malaki into his pride. He wanted to be a fighter, and it looked like the area was as good of a place as any to get himself lost in a war with Gadaí.
“I came by to tell you that I’m leaving,” he stated, locking down his emotions. He’d gotten really good at that over the last few years. “For good this time.”
“Why?” she cried. “Where are you going?”
“I need to go my own way, Sofia,” he said as a reply. He didn’t want anyone knowing where he was going, and he had asked Talon to keep it a secret. The last thing he wanted was for Calla to come searching for him. He wasn’t going far, but it was far enough to give him a chance at a new life. The swamps of Louisiana were going to be miserable during the upcoming summer, but he’d survive. He’d been through worse.
“Please, don’t leave,” she cried, wiping her tears. “Damn it, Malaki!”
“I’m sorry.” He held out his hand when she started around the desk to get close to him. “Sofia, you are going to be okay. I just wanted to stop in and tell you goodbye in person. I couldn’t just leave without seeing you one last time.”
“Mal…” She paused when he pulled the set of keys from his pocket, placing them on the counter. “I’m gifting you my home. It’s fully stocked. Talon knows and he approved it.”
“But, it’s yours,” she frowned.
“No, Sofia, it’s yours now,” he admitted, backing away. She started crying harder…hard enough that the new animal doc came out of the back to see what the noise was about. “Take care of yourself.”
He pushed through the doors of the clinic and tried to ignore the sound of his friend’s heartbreak as he climbed in his truck, driving south…out of town and out of the Shaw pride’s territory.